A hard act to follow in every respect

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Racism recalled ... Stevie Wonder sings at a rally after a march in
Atlanta.Photo: Reuters

Stevie Wonder has led calls for the Bush Administration to renew
a landmark law designed to protect the voting rights of America's
black minority.

In a moving speech during a performance at New York's Apollo
theatre, the 55-year-old blind singer and musician recalled an
early tour in the Deep South as a teenager, when he was prevented
from using the whites-only toilet in a service station.

A rapturous crowd roared their approval at Wonder's return to
the Apollo, a centre of black music that is celebrating its 70th
anniversary. He made his big break there in 1963, when he won the
weekly Amateur Night talent competition that continues today.

Wonder is helping to lead the campaign to renew the provisions
of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which removed discrimination laws.
Certain provisions of the act are due to expire in 2007, giving
states greater power over voting practices - potentially making it
harder for the poor to vote. "We must begin now to make the public
aware that this is an important democratic right we must protect
for all people," Wonder said.

The audience whooped, "That's right", as he recalled his first
tour of the South.

He was 14 and in Mississippi with a white teacher. "I'd been
drinking so much soda [soft drink], we had to stop. My teacher
asked where the bathroom was and the man told him. He started
walking me to the bathroom when the man shouted, 'Hey, no niggers
supposed to use the bathroom here!'

" 'This is Stevie Wonder,' " said my teacher. " 'I don't give a
damn who this is. Use the back.'

"We drove off. I didn't have any more sodas."

On Saturday, 2000 civil rights activists marched in Atlanta to
mark the 40th anniversary of the act and to demand its renewal.

Bruce Gordon, of the National Association for the Advancement of
Coloured People, said action was needed because some states had
passed laws requiring voters to show state-issued identification at
the polls. Critics say this shows bias against blacks and
Hispanics.